Goldstine in at U as Egan moves to toons

Egan to Illumination; Goldstine moves over from Sony

Universal Pictures is expected to tap veteran Sony Pictures exec Josh Goldstine as president of marketing, replacing Eddie Egan, who’s moving over to head marketing at Illumination Entertainment.

Studio, which has seen a resurgent box office this year, declined comment Wednesday. A person close to the situation told Variety that a formal announcement about Goldstine’s hiring should be issued as early as the end of the week.

U announced Wednesday that Egan is moving to Illumination, Universal’s family animation partner. He’ll hold onto the title of exec VP of Universal, where he’s been for 17 years.

Goldstine has logged two decades at Sony, where he supervises movie marketing campaigns. In 2001, he was reprimanded and suspended along with another exec for 30 days for their roles in the creation of a fake film critic, whose blurbs were used to promote Columbia Pictures films.

Goldstine is expected to take on domestic marketing in his new slot. Universal marketing co-president Michael Moses is expected to stay in his current role.

Egan’s move is a further indication of Illumination’s plans to accelerate its production slate, including the recent hiring of Ashley Kramer as exec veep of production. Shingle has been on a hot streak with “Hop” and “Despicable Me” — successes that Universal and NBCUniversal brass have attributed to savvy marketing.

Uni’s fortunes have been revived by “Fast Five,” with $188 million domestically and $328 million internationally, along with “Bridesmaids,” which has grossed $64 million in two weeks.